An Environmental Report Card Brazil An Environmental Report Card By: Grace Bartow

Environmental Report Cards Supporting Research In order to properly grade and classify an environmental issue it would be important to: Fully understand the topic Dig deep on the opinions of the people affected by it Look at it from different points of view During the process of writing this report I used many cities including government cites like the CIA World factbook

INTRODUCTION It is located on the right side of South America and takes up most of South America. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the countries of Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname. They have a federal republic for a government. Brazil’s flag is green, with a gold diamond, and a blue circle.

INTRODUCTION According to Dictonary.com a developing country means “a country having a standard of living or level of industrial production well below that possible with financial or technical aid; a country that is not yet highly industrialized.” Brazil is considered a developing country meaning it is not fully developed but is working to become a more industrialized nation Countries like Korea and the Solomon Islands are at the same stage of development A developed country mean a country has a democracy for government a free market economy, Lack of corruption, and they’re more dependent on manufacturing than agriculture, and Prevalent Technology Brazil’s unemployment rate is 5.9% as of 2013. Brazil is considered a developed country, I agree with this

ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS Brazil has many natural resources including: Bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, rare earth elements, uranium, petroleum, hydropower and timber

ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS Key Water Issues and Challenges Brazil is ranked 68th in the world for drinking water that is available. Even though Brazil has more freshwater than any country in the world, it still has high water stress Water resources and population are unevenly distributed Recurring droughts in northeast and flooding in the south Deforestation Wetland degradation Proportion of population using shared sanitation facilities 1% Proportion of population using other unimproved sanitation facilities 15% Proportion of population practicing open defecation 3 %

ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS Key Water Issues and Challenges In Brazil the percent of the population that is poor does not have access to clean drinking water proportion of population using improved sanitation facilities 81% Air and water pollution Land degradation caused by improper mining

Energy in Brazil Brazil uses energy like Petroleum, Coal, Natural Gas In Brazil only 98.93% of the population has access to energy The total amount of fossil fuel used in Brazil is 54.57% Brazil uses 7.71% of imported energy. Brazil doesn’t have many renewable energy resources so it relies on non-renewable energy sources

Deforestation From 1988 to 2014 the percentage of deforestation in Brazil has gone from around 25,000 sq. km to 400,000 sq. km. This picture shows an area of Brazil's forests after deforestation Make lands for urbanization Commercial agriculture Brazil is making a good amount of money for selling the woods “Over the last 40 years, one-fifth of the Amazon rainforest has been cut down and farms, ranches and roads reach further into it each day.” Brazil is home to nearly two-thirds (64%) of the Amazon rainforest so Brazil plays an important role in protecting the Amazon and in protecting biodiversity, slowing climate change and maintaining important ecosystem functions. Over the past two decades Brazil has done a great deal to improve their environment, especially when it comes to deforestation.

The Trans-Amazonian Highway This picture shows the deforestation around the highway, the light green is the deforestation This highway is referred to as “an ecological disaster” according to Amazing Planet. This highway is one of the main deforestation causes in Brazil. Not only did this highway boost deforestation in Brazil, but has opened it up to logging, illegal logging, squatting and many more illegal and legal activities that are terrible for the Amazon Forest.

Deforestation Solutions Over the past two decades Brazil has done a great deal to improve their environment, especially when it comes to deforestation. The Challenge Economic growth or the preservation of Amazon rainforest The Solution Protected areas accounting for nearly 60% of total terrestrial conservation Protected areas now cover nearly 44% of the Amazon—an area larger than Greenland Brazil has maintained economic growth at the same time they have reduced deforestation over the past 10 years. They need to continue this trend

Waste In Brazil Almost two-thirds of Brazil’s population uses landfills which pollutes the area Brazil has struggled with a waste problem for a while Brazil has no national policy to help with waste Landfills emit air pollution and can contaminate ground water Brazil produces more than 161,000 tons of solid waste a day 80% of Brazil’s Municipalities use less than 5% of their budget on waste management services

Waste Solutions One solution is to develop Sanitary landfills. They are better than unsanitary landfills A sanitary landfill has a base of clay and and then waste takes layers of compacted waste and covers them with layers of earth. When the landfill is full, a cap is applied to close it. One solution is to develop Sanitary landfills. They are better than unsanitary landfills – A sanitary landfill has a base of clay and and then waste takes layers of compacted waste and covers them with layers of earth. When the landfill is full, a cap is applied to close it. A sanitary landfill should be located above the water table so that chemicals, bacterias and gases do not get into the water. It is also important that the sanitary landfill is in an area that is not geologically active – which means it is not an area that has eatrthquakes or volcanic eruptions because landfills are filled with methane which can be explosive. Brazil is developing more sanitary landfills but they do not have enough in place for the entire country. This will be a big problem when they are hosting the 2016 Olympics and need places to dispose of all of the waste safely and carefully.

Priority Actions As of right now, it looks as if Brazil will continue to have a steady population and steady population growth, which means it will need more area for people to live in. This means that the problems of deforestation and waste management will need to be addressed Loss of the Amazon will worsen the problem of global warming. Sustainable living and sustainable development need to be priorities for the people of Brazil.